SA’s elite are set to fork out about three times more than the national minimum wage for the privilege of a meal for four at one of the country’s most swish restaurants this Christmas.

Image: Jackie Clausen
Prices per person at some of SA’s top eateries range from R695 to R2,500, and the national monthly minimum wage rate is R3,500.
A snap survey by the Sunday Times this week found that a group of four diners would pay R10,000 for Christmas lunch at the five-star Oyster Box’s Grill Room in Umhlanga.
General manager Wayne Coetzer said the 60-seater restaurant would feature a gueridon trolley service – a meal served by a waiter from a trolley or side table.
The nine-course meal will include oysters in a box, caviar, organic grass-fed sirloin and the hotel’s take on the classic French Christmas log, a rich chocolate genoise cake.
Cape Town celebrity chef Reuben Riffel will be rolling out a buffet at R1,450 a head at his restaurant, Reuben’s, in the One&Only hotel on the V&A Waterfront.
The festive fare includes a fresh-shucked oyster station, Asian-style west coast mussels, Singaporean fish curry, roast leg of Karoo lamb and candy cane macaroons.
Isola, another restaurant at the One&Only, has planned a poolside seafood braai at R1,750 a person, with Mauritian prawn and miso skewers and crayfish.
Christmas lunch at the luxurious Twelve Apostles, also in Cape Town, has a price tag of R1,450 a person, with the menu comprising a three-course buffet and a welcome drink on arrival.
Johannesburg’s Four Seasons Hotel the Westcliff has a six-course Christmas dinner at its View restaurant for R1,795 a person.
Christmas Eve dinner at the hotel’s Flames restaurant includes fennel- and apple-cured salmon; braised pork cheeks and a cheese table with a selection of local cheeses for R1,200 a person.
The Michelangelo Hotel’s L’Incontro Ballroom will be transformed into Christmas central when it hosts a buffet lunch at R695 a person.
BY SUTHENTIRA GOVENDER – TimesLIVE
Source: TMG Digital